Wenaas' Second-Place Finish Paces 'Cats in Day 1 at Williams

Friday, February 16

Alpine - GS, Jiminy Peak Mountain / Nordic - 10K Classic, Prospect Mountain

University of New Hampshire

Williams Carnival

Photo by: Steve Fuller

Wenaas' Second-Place Finish Paces 'Cats in Day 1 at Williams

2/16/2024 7:01:00 PM | Skiing

HANCOCK, Mass. and WOODFORD, Vt. – Senior Lea Stabaek Wenaas (Oslo, Norway) recorded her second career podium finish to lead the University of New Hampshire ski team to fourth place following the completion of Day 1 at the Williams Carnival on Friday.

Wenaas raced to second place in the women's 10K classic race at Prospect Mountain with a time of 36 minutes, 58.1 seconds to mark her highest career finish and earn 47 points.

The women's Nordic team recorded the top score in the 10K classic with 116 points. UNH's men's alpine squad ranked third in the giant slalom with 94 points while the women were fifth in the giant slalom with 84 points. The men's Nordic contingent also placed fifth with 77 points.

UNH amassed 371 points Friday to rank fourth. Dartmouth College is atop the leaderboard with 425 points and is followed by the University of Vermont (406.5) and Middlebury College (381). Colby College rounds out the top five with 297.5 points.

The Wildcats conclude the Williams Carnival on Saturday, Feb. 17 with the 5K skate relay at Prospect Mountain and slalom at Jiminy Peak.

Williams Carnival, Day 1
Friday, Feb. 16
10K Classic at Prospect Mountain
Giant Slalom at Jiminy Peak Mountain

RESULTS

New Hampshire had three top-10 finishes in the women's classic. In addition to the aforementioned Wenaas, senior captain Luci Anderson (Golden Valley, Minn.) crossed the finish line with a time of 37:21.5 to earn fifth place and 39 points. Sophomore Hattie Barker (Underhill, Vt.), on the heels of her first career podium finish in last week's classic race, placed 10^th Friday in 37:41.1 to contribute 30 points. Sophomore Emma Charles (Farmington, Maine) was the fourth Wildcat to post a top-20 finish; her time of 38:49.9 earned 20^th place.

The duo of graduate student Hunter Brayton (Waterville Valley, N.H.) and sophomore Isac Hedström (Are, Sweden) led the UNH men's alpine in the giant slalom at Jiminy Peak Mountain. Brayton completed his first run in 48.98 seconds and second in 46.03 for an aggregate time of 1:35.01 to tie for fifth place and add 38 points. Hedström recorded the third-fastest time in Run 2 (45.54) to climb into sixth place (35 points) with an overall mark of 1:35.11. Senior Hayden Dahl (Plymouth, N.H.) completed the men's GS team scoring in 19^th place at 1:36.34 to add 21 points to the Wildcats' total.

Sophomore Tilde Kandell (Leksand, Sweden) raced to fifth place in the women's giant slalom. She recorded the second-fastest time in the first run (50.29 seconds) and a combined time of 1:37.89 to earn 39 points. Grad student Cassie Lieblein (Harrisburg, Pa.) was the second 'Cat and placed 19^th overall in 1:39.35 to record 24 points. Junior Gaia Palamara (Verona, Italy) rounded out the team scoring in 24^th place (21 points) with a time of 1:39.63.

Junior Roger Anderson (Golden Valley, Minn.) paced the men in the 10K classic with a sixth-place effort of 32:21.1 to earn 37 points. Junior Eli Gore (Madison, Wis.) crossed the finish line in 33:43.7 for 22^nd place and 23 points. Classmate Nathan Maybach (Boise, Idaho) completed the team scoring with 17 points for his 28^th-place time of 34:07.1.